Area Athletes Gear Up For Games

Libertyville Racer Is Set To Break Ground At Special Olympics

March 02, 2001|By John Flink. Special to the Tribune.

Blake Peacock, 14, of Libertyville will be blazing a new trail next week when he becomes one of the first athletes to compete in snowshoeing, an event making its debut as a medal sport this year at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Alaska.

More than 2,000 athletes from 80 countries are slated to compete Sunday through March 11 in and around Anchorage. Sixteen Illinois residents will compete alongside athletes from other states on Team USA.

Athletes chosen for the Games aren't necessarily the top competitors in each state, said Barbara DiGuido, Special Olympics representative for northeastern Illinois. But they are solid competitors chosen to fill specific slots allotted to each state, she said.

"Special Olympics has all of the pomp and circumstance of the regular Olympics," DiGuido said. "It's quite a spectacle."

Snowshoeing was a demonstration sport at the last Games, held in Toronto in 1997. Its popularity among athletes and fans got it elevated to medal status this year.

"I'm looking forward to snowshoeing and to meeting people from other countries," Blake Peacock said. "I want to make lots of friends on this trip."

Blake plans to travel to Alaska with his parents, Becky and Bob, and his brother Tyler, 12. He regularly trains with his mom and a friend of hers, often on the Des Plaines River Trail near their home.

Olympic snowshoes are made of aluminum, with a high-tech design to distribute the wearer's weight more efficiently than the overgrown tennis rackets that usually come to mind.

"You have to use a bit wider stance when running in snowshoes, but only a bit wider nowadays," said Maggie Dittburner, head snowshoeing coach at the Jo Daviess Workshop in Galena and for the Illinois team. "A lot of runners are finding that snowshoeing is a great conditioning alternative for the winter months."

Lake Bluff resident Andrew Brown, 22, is scheduled to compete in figure skating. His mother, Lucy Dunson, said skating has given Brown discipline and a sense of purpose. "It'll be fun to go to Alaska," he said. "The most fun part will be winning."

Brown plans to make the trip with his parents, grandmother and 92-year-old great-grandmother who, Dunson said, is especially looking forward to the opportunity to watch Brown compete against athletes from around the world.

Alissa Weisgram of Palatine will be cheered on by her parents, Margaret and Doug, when she competes in alpine skiing.

"She has made so many good friends through Special Olympics," Margaret Weisgram said. "It's all about cheering each other on. It's marvelous to watch them."

For Weisgram, 21, the appeal is much simpler.

"I like skiing because I get to go fast," she said. "I could do it all day."

The Peacocks made arrangements to see part of the Iditarod, the Nome-to-Anchorage dogsled race held at the same time as the Games.